Apr 7, 2013 | Branding, Communication
Interesting verb, “to brand”.
On one hand, it can mean sticking a mark on something you own to indelibly claim ownership.
On the other, it implies a process of building a relationship with something that provides you with some sort of satisfaction and gratification that you value.
These two things are at opposite ends of the same stick. No sensible marketer believes any longer that they “own” a customer, although that argument is pretty common amongst corporations that have several divisions all servicing the same client.
An then you get something like this terrific Somerset Cider ‘Apple” advertising, It is a parody, it trades off the engagement people have with “Apple”, and I wonder if it adds to the Apple brand, rather than just taking an opportunistic, and parasitic position.
I suspect, it adds to the mystic of the “Apple” brand, as it is entertaining, interesting, feeds into the Apple target market and psychology, and holds Apple up as a “gold standard”, so Apple should be thanking the Somerset cider people.
However, I bet the litigious bunch in Cupertino are tearing their hair out, and my guess is that we have not heard the last of it.
Apr 5, 2013 | Branding, Communication
When you have something to communicate, do it simply, decisively, without any ambiguity or extra frills, and look the receiver of the communication in the eyes. This holds for personal communication, advertising, and now for the myriad of social communication sites that have burst onto the communication landscape.
This commercial, from back in the 60’s, by the now long gone Union Carbide advertising their insulation must be one of the greatest commercials ever. I saw it as a kid on our first TV, and have never forgotten the message. It talks about the product, demonstrates the benefit, is a simple idea easily communicated, you watch and remember all the commercial, not go to make a coffee.
The communication landscape may be radically altered from when I was a kid in the 60’s, but the skills of effective communication remain just the same, just as human. However, the production values have gone up a bit, we could now shoot a better looking commercial on our mobile phones, but it is not the look, but the message that counts.
Apr 4, 2013 | Marketing, Social Media
I have been intrigued by the differances in material delivered to my inbox, when compared to a colleagues inbox, using the same search terms.
Our lives are run by algorithms, every time we log on, our history, and assumptions based on that history, plays a determining role in what we see, the order in which we see it, and the offers that get delivered.
Given that Maths output is exact, black and white, it is the assumptions made based on the patterns of past behavior that create the differences in the content that individuals have delivered to them.
It proves again the old adage, “what you see is what you get”, albeit in an entirely different context.
Apr 2, 2013 | Branding, Communication, Customers, Marketing, Social Media
Are these two separate ideas, or just opposite ends of the same stick?
In a world increasingly driven by data, and as someone who has been known to rant about the necessity of measuring marketing efforts in order to build a better ROI on marketing investments, where does emotion fit in?
Data is a bit like the framework of a house, you can see where the bedrooms and bathrooms are, how big they are, are there any windows, and so on, but that is a sterile, emotionless representation of the home that framework can become. Add some colour, furnishings, a kids teddy on the floor, and the framework becomes a home. It is these additions, the accoutrements of life these added things that all have their own stories that adds the emotion to the framework of the house.
We are rushing headlong into a world run by data, but it would be a mistake to let the pendulum go too far, and overwhelm the emotion, as we live and remember with stories, and memories, data is just the means we use to make them more accessible.
As you contemplate the analytics on your web site, and the data in your CRM system, don’t forget that each data point represents a human story, experience, feeling, and some sort of emotion, and it will add great value when you are able to incorpoare that into he way the data set works.
Mar 27, 2013 | Branding, Customers, Marketing, Sales, Small business, Social Media
Things move on petty quickly.
It is just a few years ago that even ordinary websites had a reasonable chance of being noticed, and communicate something worthwhile. Not now, a site that just offers static information is as relevant as last weeks chip wrapper.
“Content” suddenly became the next big thing, useful information in graphic and video formats, links to other sites, and research reports to the wazoo, all offered in the interests of “engagement” of the reader. Still pretty useful, but the production of content has become so easy, that most of it around is just crap, and it takes effort to sort through it. Research comes from unknown, unqualified sources, video is largely of the result of a kid with a mobile, there is simply so much of it, that no longer does it easily fit the bill.
Social media of various types now fills the role of information, and engagement. Websites are rapidly becoming the business end of the sales process, and as such must be transactional, their relevance as purveyors of information, is rapidly eroding to that of relevance only in the sence of confirming terms of trade.
A website without a capacity to transact is like a fancy car without an engine, nice for enthusiasts to look at, but no good for getting the shopping.
Mar 26, 2013 | Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Everybody has something to say, and the democratisation of the web means everyone has the opportunity.
Just take a look at the twitter feeds of some of the big brands, some inane crap written by a 10 year old intellect can attract thousands of “likes”, and the wombats breed just to provide more of them.
So what?. Why should these big brands bother? Surely such nonsense detracts from their brand?
Well, to my mind they shouldn’t do it, building and maintaining a brand is hard enough without putting extra lead in the saddlebags.
On the contrary, the opportunity to say something of value, pass on some wisdom, offer useful advice is now easier than it has ever been. Those thoughts need to be heard, debated, and they add to our lives.
Just a pity that we have to wade through the mountains of crap, despite all the filtering and prioritisation tools available, to find the interesting stuff.
